The Internet and the World Wide Web are gaining widespread acceptance. Today, users routinely take advantage of a plethora of information and of very many services offered on the Web. So many different individuals, organizations, and entities make information and services available over the Web that it is difficult to easily identify exactly what kind of information or service is being offered. For example, one site may be dedicated to providing different types of information about automobiles or some other item of consumer interest. Unfortunately, there is no simple way for the user to determine what type of information is available at a particular site without manually investigating the site.
In another instance, a company may offer a financial service at its site with a well defined protocol for interacting with the service. If a user wishes to take advantage of the service, the user's computer system most likely must use the defined protocol to communicate with that service. Until now, special services or controls must be installed on the user's computer system before the communication can be made possible. A simple mechanism for making information available about resources that may be found at a site has eluded those skilled in the art.